I had, for the first time in weeks — months, even — a productive day. I had big, gnarly projects to accomplish, and I made significant progress on each of them.
Productive days are the best. Once I have momentum, I feel unstoppable.
But why are these days so few and far between for me — and I imagine for most people? I think it boils down to finding the perfect mix of time available and focused attention.
Time
Days filled with meetings are starved of available time to be productive, but days with absolutely nothing on them aren’t necessarily ideal either. There’s some truth in the adage “if you need something done, ask the busiest person you know.”
Focus
Focu is even trickier to pin down. The right level of focus is when your priorities are ideally aligned, aka you don’t have 10 high priority tasks — they can be easily stack ranked so you can focus on each one at a time. Focus is freeing your mind of distraction, and knowing exactly what the next step is.
Here are a few tactics I’ve used lately to get myself in that focused state:
Force tasks to occupy physical space in your calendar. It will require you to get realistic with what you can actually do in the day
Completely disable distractions like email, chat, and calls except for infrequent designated periods during the day
Set the soundtrack — I like white noise or audio designed for sleep and meditation
Even with the above in mind, sustained productivity day after day is still elusive, so seeking it every day is probably not advisable. Instead, know the tactics you need to get productive, so you can unleash it when you need it most.
